Anxiety/fear of dental treatment during pregnancy: use of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale.

Background: Despite advances in the control of anxiety and fear, dental treatment (DT) continues to be a stressful event, especially during pregnancy. There are several instruments to measure anxiety and fear about DT (AFDT). However, few are validated for use in Brazil.

Salivary Iron (Fe) Ion Levels, Serum Markers of Anemia and Caries Activity in Pregnant Women.

 Anemia is a very frequent event among pregnant women. There are evidences of differences in the incidence of dental caries between pregnant and non-pregnant women, but the relationship between salivary iron (Fe) and serum markers of anemia and caries development has not been investigated.  To evaluate the correlation between salivary (Fe) and serum iron (Fe, ferritin and hemoglobin) parameters in pregnant women with the development of dental caries.

Primary Health Care and Cervical Cancer Mortality Rates in Brazil: A Longitudinal Ecological Study.

Cervical cancer is a common neoplasm that is responsible for nearly 230 000 deaths annually in Brazil. Despite this burden, cervical cancer is considered preventable with appropriate care. We conducted a longitudinal ecological study from 2002 to 2012 to examine the relationship between the delivery of preventive primary care and cervical cancer mortality rates in Brazil.

[Evaluating productivity targets achievement in Dental Specialty Centers from Maranhão State, Brazil, 2011].

Objective: to evaluate productivity targets achievement (PTA) in Dental Specialty Centers (DSCs) from Maranhão State, Brazil.

Methods: this was an ecologic study using secondary data; an indicator for PTA was created for each subgroup of procedures.

Results: 25 DSCs were evaluated; the PTA was higher for basic procedures (n=19), followed by endodontics (n=11), oral surgery (n=9) and periodontics (n=8); the best results were obtained at DSCs type II; higher PTA was associated with financial anticipation (basic procedures) and higher Human Development Index, life expectancy and social exclusion rate (endodontics); lower PTA was associated with larger population (endodontics/oral surgery), adherence to the Pact for Health (periodontics/endodontics), larger number of specialties (periodontics) and bigger DSC (oral surgery).

Impact of Malocclusion on the Quality of Life of Brazilian Adolescents: A Population-Based Study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of malocclusion on the quality of life (QOL) of adolescents in Brazil. We carried out a cross-sectional study in a sample population of 1015 schoolchildren aged 12 to 15 years from São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. The explanatory variable was malocclusion, evaluated on the basis of the normative need or the adolescent's self-perceived need for dental treatment.

Regulatory Cytokine Expression and Preterm Birth: Case-Control Study Nested in a Cohort.

Background: Currently known risk factors explain only a small fraction of preterm birth (PTB). Previous PTB is one of the most important predictors. However, this information is not available in primiparous women.

Self-perceived need for dental treatment and related factors. A cross-sectional population-based study.

This study compared adolescents' self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment with the normative need for such treatment and investigated associations between socioeconomic and demographic variables and self-perceptions of dental malocclusion. This cross-sectional study involved 1015 schoolchildren aged 12-15 years in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. The following data were collected using a questionnaire and an orthodontic examination card: demographic and identifying data, socioeconomic data, educational levels of family, household income, economic classification criteria, and self-reported skin color behavioral data, and oral health data.

Perinatal outcomes and changes in the oral cavity: Brazilian cohorts of Ribeirão Preto and São Luís.

Studies have shown a possible association of oral diseases during pregnancy with preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW). These perinatal outcomes appear to be associated with enamel defects in the primary dentition, which, in turn, seem to predispose to future development of caries in children. Therefore it is relevant to include oral health variables of the mother/child dyad in cohort studies to understand how these factors are associated.

[Evaluation of oral health indicators in Brazil: a trend towards equity in dental care?].

This study tested the hypothesis that oral health indicators from the Pact for Primary Healthcare 2006, the Biennial Pact for Health 2010-2011, and the indicators for the transition from the Pact for Health to the 2012 Organizational Contract for Public Action in Health did not differ between states of Brazil with different Human Development Indices (HDI). A longitudinal ecological study was performed, comparing the states of Brazil with the highest and lowest HDIs. Data were obtained from the information systems of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and submitted to mixed-effects linear regression (alpha = 5%).

Effects of conventional and orthodontic pacifiers on the dental occlusion of children aged 24-36 months old.

Aim: To investigate the effects of conventional and orthodontic pacifiers on the prevalence of malocclusion (MO) considering frequency, duration, and intensity of the sucking habit.

Design: Data were collected at three time-points: birth, T1; (12-24 months old), T2; (24-36 months old), T3 and were divided into three groups: control (GC; 110), without non-nutritive sucking habits; orthodontic pacifiers (GOrth; 55); conventional pacifiers (GConv; 55). A questionnaire was applied.

Changes in perinatal health in two birth cohorts (1997/1998 and 2010) in São Luís, Maranhão State, Brazil.

The objective of this study was to analyze changes in perinatal health in two birth cohorts started in 1997/1998 and 2010, respectively, in São Luís, Maranhão State, Brazil. A total of 2,493 live born infants were included in 1997/1998 and 5,166 in 2010. Low birth weight (LBW) rate did not change (8.

Is sickle cell anemia a risk factor for severe dental malocclusion?

The aim of this study was to investigate possible associations between sickle cell anemia (SCA) and the severity of dental malocclusion (MO). This was a retrospective cohort study of 93 individuals with SCA (G1) and 186 individuals without the disease (G2). SCA patients were randomly selected by a simple draw from patients treated in the Centro de Hematologia e Hemoterapia do Maranhão (HEMOMAR) in northeastern Brazil.

A protocol to identify non-classical risk factors for preterm births: the Brazilian Ribeirão Preto and São Luís prenatal cohort (BRISA).

Background: Preterm birth is the main cause of morbidity and mortality during the perinatal period. Classical risk factors are held responsible for only 1/3 of preterm births and no current intervention has produced an appreciable reduction of this event. It is necessary to explore new hypotheses and mechanisms of causality by using an integrated approach, collaboration among research groups and less fragmented theoretical-methodological approaches in order to detect new risk factors and to formulate more effective intervention strategies.

[Dental spacing problems and associated factors among Brazilian adolescents].

The scope of this study was to estimate the prevalence of dental spacing problems and associated factors among adolescents using data from the SB Brazil 2010 survey. The outcomes evaluated were dental spacing problems: space deficit (crowding and misalignment) and excess space (diastema and spacing) obtained using the DAI index. The association of independent variables with outcomes was assessed using a hierarchical model with four levels: contextual, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, access to services and dental morbidity.

The association between skin color/race and health indicators in elderly Brazilians: a study based on the Brazilian National Household Sample Survey (2008).

This study analyzed racial inequalities in health in 18,684 elderly Brazilians 65 years or older, interviewed in the National Household Sample Survey in 2008 (PNAD 2008), and who reported their color/race as white, brown, or black. Associations were estimated between self-rated health status, functional incapacity, and number of chronic conditions according to crude and adjusted regression analyses (α = 0.01).

Factors associated with prolonged non-nutritive sucking habits in two cohorts of Brazilian children.

Background: Non-nutritive sucking habits (NNSH) are very common during childhood. However, if these habits were maintained for 36 months of age or more, they are considered to be prolonged (PNNSH) and can cause occlusal, physiological and esthetic changes. There is controversy about their prevalence and whether perinatal, social, demographic and health characteristics influence their onset and duration.

Periodontal status and serum biomarkers levels in haemodialysis patients.

Aim: To investigate the association between periodontal status and serum biomarkers levels in haemodialysis patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 96 haemodialysis patients. The periodontal evaluation was realized using clinical attachment level (CAL), probing depth (PD), gingival bleeding index (GBI), visible plaque index (VPI) and gingival index (GI).

[Factors associated with use of oral health services: a population-based study in municipalities of the state of Maranhão, Brazil].

The scope of this study was to evaluate the use of oral health services (OHS) and related factors in municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Maranhão, Brazil. It was a population-based sample including 1214 children and 1059 adults. Prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated by hierarchical Poisson regression in accordance with Andersen's theoretical model.

[Is the severity of caries associated with malnutrition in preschool children?].

An analysis was conducted to evaluate if the severity of caries is associated with protein-calorie malnutrition in preschool children. The cross-sectional study was performed on a retrospective cohort of 625 children aged 24-71 months attending daycare centers in São Luís, Maranhão. A hierarchical model was evaluated at five levels: 1.

Factors associated with the quality of life of adults subjected to hemodialysis in a city in northeast Brazil.

Introduction: There is a known association between low scores for quality of life (QOL) and higher rates of hospitalization, mortality in hemodialysis vascular access catheter, older age, lack of regular occupation, presence of comorbidities and hypoalbuminemia. There is still no agreement about the influence of sex, educational level, socioeconomic status and treatment time on the worst levels of QOL.

Objective: Identify socioeconomic, demographic, clinical, nutritional and laboratory factors associated with worse QOL in adults undergoing hemodialysis in Sao Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.

Longitudinal assessment of immunological and oral clinical conditions in patients undergoing anticancer treatment for leukemia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the evolution of the immunological and oral clinical conditions of children and adolescents undergoing anticancer treatment for leukemia (ATL).

Methods: Twenty patients aged 3-15 years undergoing chemotherapy seen at a referral center for cancer treatment in the State of Maranhão, Brazil, from 2008 to 2009, were evaluated at baseline (1st). Twenty-two controls were selected in public schools.

Association between Sickle Cell Anemia and Pulp Necrosis.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between sickle cell anemia (SCA) and pulp necrosis (PN).

Methods: One hundred thirteen individuals with SCA (ie, the exposed group) from the Supervision of Hematology and Hemotherapy of Maranhão (HEMOMAR), Maranhão, Brazil, and 226 individuals without SCA, the sickle cell trait, or other diseases (ie, the nonexposed group) were enrolled in this study. All participants were over 16 years old and had at least 1 clinically intact permanent tooth.

Malocclusion and deleterious oral habits among adolescents in a developing area in northeastern Brazil.

Although malocclusions represent a serious public health issue, there is insufficient information about this problem in adolescents in Brazil, especially in poorer areas. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the prevalence of facial alterations, dental malocclusions, and deleterious oral habits (DOH) among adolescents in a developing area in northeastern Brazil and to test the hypothesis that the occurrence of DOH in infancy is associated with DOH during adolescence. The study included a probabilistic population-based sample of 2,060 Brazilian students aged 12-15 years.

Craniofacial bone abnormalities and malocclusion in individuals with sickle cell anemia: a critical review of the literature.

This study aims to critically review the literature in respect to craniofacial bone abnormalities and malocclusion in sickle cell anemia individuals. The Bireme and Pubmed electronic databases were searched using the following keywords: malocclusion, maxillofacial abnormalities, and Angle Class I, Class II and lass III malocclusions combined with sickle cell anemia. The search was limited to publications in English, Spanish or Portuguese with review articles and clinical cases being excluded from this study.

Maternal breastfeeding, parafunctional oral habits and malocclusion in adolescents: a multivariate analysis.

Objective: Malocclusion may result in esthetic impairment and functional disorders such as bad chewing, speech and swallowing, with a negative impact on quality of life. There is uncertainty regarding the effects of breastfeeding on dentofacial malocclusions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationship between maternal breastfeeding and dental malocclusions and facial characteristics in adolescents with permanent dentition.